Staff Columns

21st Century Museum ofContemporary Art, KanazawaIshikawa

For visitors interested in exploring places within reasonable distance of Tokyo, Kanazawa is definitely worth considering. The city has quite a traditional image, being home to Kenrokuen (regarded as one of Japan’s finest three gardens), superb regional cuisine and the splendid remains of Kanazawa Castle. But Kanazawa also has a contemporary character in the shape of its modern art museum.
Located close to Kenrokuen, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa features works by celebrated contemporary artists from Japan and around
the world. The museum is housed in a dramatically designed circular building with glass exterior walls, allowing natural light into the galleries.
Among the permanent exhibits, I was really impressed by Leandro Erlich’s The Swimming Pool, which looks like an ordinary pool from above but under the water is a space where visitors can enter. I also liked James Turrell’s Blue Planet Sky, a gallery where visitors can watch the changes in natural light through a square hole in the roof. But there are many other permanent and temporary exhibits for you to discover at this fine museum.

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